Coaching and Care of Athletes

THE DISCUS THROW pos1t10n. Another major fault is found in the failure of the athlete to keep his weight mainly over the left leg and always over the leg on which he is working. It is a fault to spin too far on the left foot, so that the right foot is not put down on the line of direction, and to make the spin on the right foot too brief, so that the left-foot position blocks the throw and the discus is sliced away to the right. Another bad fault in turning is when the legs are held stiffly like a pair of compasses. There must be slight flexion of the legs and plenty of give in the knees. Yet another major fault is the failure of the athlete. to turn well ahead of his discus and to maintain a steady pull upon the rim throughout the acceleration of the turn. (4) In the delivery: Non-success can often be traced to the discus not being far enough behind the body when the throwing stance is taken, and to the athlete's inability to exert a steady, even pull from that position. Lack of knee-bend causes loss ofleverage in the leg-drive, and lack of rapidity in the rotation of the hips will rob the throw of speed. In normal wind conditions it is best to release tl;le discus at an angle of about 30°, but one should throw higher with the wind and lower against it. A wind against the discus is advantageous up to I4 miles per hour. Failure of the athlete to make the delivery in the plane of the proposed flight is a bad error. Eccentricity in flight is usually due to the wrist's being extended, instead of being held partly flexed, as the arm sweeps forward and up, but may be traced also to an insufficient,final snap of the wrist and fingers to impart a proper amount of spin. Other faults are found in an incomplete extension of the legs and body and lack of follow-through after the discus has left the hand at a point in line with the shoulders, as shown correctly by Carpenter in Plate LXII, Fig. 208. The following are specimen schedules for one week's work in each of four one-month periods of training, into which the whole training period should be divided. Each day's work must be~ preceded by the limbering-up process which has proved most suitable to the individual athlete. PRELIMINARY-SEASON TRAINING Not much need be said about ·the preliminary-training period if the athlete will read the advice given to hammer-throwers and find for himself facilities for working in a gymnasium or drill-hall. 439